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Sign now and be a voice for the voiceless and demand a ban on the inhumane debarking procedure!

Severing a dog’s vocal chords, known as debarking, is a cruel and dangerous procedure. It is performed to lower the volume or eliminate the dog from barking. Nuisance barking can be controlled with proper training and an exercise regime.

Dogs communicate with us and each other through body language and barking. A dog barks when they are stimulated by a noise, stranger, or other animal to alert us to their presence. Taking that communication away can lead to other behavior problems, like biting.

Training methods such as clicker training can reduce the amount of barking. And positive reinforcement for desired behaviors, like being quiet, is much more effective. [1] Exercising the dog will also decrease the amount of barking. A bored dog will be overstimulated and find ways to entertain themselves. When people effectively communicate and train their dogs nuisance barking is dramatically reduced or eliminated.

Debarking is dangerous. There can be excessive bleeding during the procedure and a chance of developing pneumonia. A buildup of scar tissue around the larynx can lead to complicated breathing, coughing, and a muffled sound. [3] Not to mention, the pain and stress of surgery.

“Debarking is not a medically necessary procedure,” Jeffrey S. Klausner, chief medical officer of the Banfield Pet Hospital, told The New York Times. “We think it’s not humane to the dogs to put them through the surgery and the pain. We just do not think that it should be performed.” [2]

Supporters of debarking claim that it reduces the number of dogs in shelters. However, that is incorrect. The National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy’s research found that barking is NOT one of the top five reasons people surrender their dog to a shelter. [1] Actually, debarked dogs end up in the shelter and are not adopted because of the muffled noise they make, which sounds worse than any bark.

A court in Oregon ruled for two Tibetan mastiff dogs to be debarked because of nuisance barking. The dogs are used by the owners as protectors for their livestock and need them to bark to deter predators. [4] Nobody should be forced to cause their dog pain and remove a means of communication. Ban this procedure!